


bullseye

by thir13enth



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: F/F, implied Artemis/Zagreus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thir13enth/pseuds/thir13enth
Summary: artemis may be the best markswoman in all of olympus, but aphrodite doesn't miss her shots either
Relationships: Aphrodite/Artemis
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62





	bullseye

As much as the elusive Artemis hides herself within the shadowy evergreens of the Olympian forests, Aphrodite never finds the reclusive goddess difficult to track down. With enough observation, Aphrodite’s learned the patterns of all the spots Artemis favors — the bend of the Lethe at the far edges of Elysium, the upper bounds of Asphodel where the lava turns to cooler igneous formations, the nadir of the gorge with Greece’s ocean horizon plainly in sight. Peaceful, serene, and most importantly, discreet.

Alas, there are only so many places Artemis can sulk away from the eyes of the other Olympians, and unfortunately for the solitary goddess, Aphrodite knows them all. In fact, it doesn’t take Aphrodite very much at all to locate Artemis.

Or even sneak up behind her thereafter.

Of course, the moment Aphrodite floats within a five-foot range, Artemis — ever the huntress — senses her immediately. She twists around, presenting the sharp tip of a ready arrow between Aphrodite’s eyes.

Aphrodite grants her a charming smile, floating a few inches back in a half-somersault. “Why _hello_ there, dear Artemis, must you greet me with such a threatening weapon? I’m barely armored, love!”

“You’re barely _clothed_ , really,” Artemis replies, under her breath. She gives Aphrodite’s body a rather unsubtle second glance before nevertheless lowering her bow. She folds the tail of the arrow into her palm as she releases tension on the string, and then retreats back to a half-squat, overlooking the slow river before her.

“ _Hm?_ What was that?” Aphrodite purrs, diving back down to lower her face to Artemis’s eye-level.

Artemis shrinks into herself, shying away from her — but ultimately unable to avoid the pink tangles of Aphrodite’s hair in her face.

“What was that?” Aphrodite repeats, persistent. She cups her ear, leaning closer to Artemis. “I couldn’t hear you.”

Aphrodite doesn’t miss how Artemis shudders when her voice nears.

Artemis bristles then. “What do you want?!” she blurts.

Aphrodite gives her an emphatic frown. “Can I not just visit you without any desire? Can I not just visit a dear family member without an ulterior motive?” She lets the words sink in silence a moment before reaching a hand out to brush a stray bang from Artemis’s forehead. She giggles then, “Unless that is… you _want_ me to want something from you.”

Artemis gives her a disdainful look, but not before snapping her eyes back up to Aphrodite’s face. “No,” she declares, crossing her arms over her chest. And then as if to make a point, she adds, “And not _ever_.”

It’s cute how Artemis doesn’t think that Aphrodite notices the flush on her cheeks.

Artemis, ever isolating herself from others, has a rather unpracticed poker face — so easy to read.

Aphrodite clucks her tongue. “Oh, dear Artemis, you could have simply said no for just _now_. Not _ever_ is an _incredibly_ long time, especially for us gods, you know.”

“What do you want, Aphrodite?” Artemis growls, repeating her question once more.

“Ah, you look so _adorable_ with temper on your face, I simply must answer your question now,” Aphrodite replies, squatting but remaining hovering a few inches above ground. “I couldn’t help but notice you’ve taken quite a bit of interest in the little godling.”

Artemis raises a single thin eyebrow. “Isn’t everyone interested in him? New member of the family and all?”

Aphrodite snorts. “Since when have you ever been invested in family affairs? The last time I might have seen you at a gathering was at least a couple hundred centuries ago,” she retorts. “What makes Zagreus so special, hm?”

“He’s not special—”

“So you gift every not-so-special individual your arrowheads then?”

Artemis’s lips twist. “It’s hard to perceive him with all the Underworld’s brutes in the way.”

“You’re just _keeping a close eye_ on him, huh?” She gives Artemis a dramatic wink.

“Yeah, so? What’s so strange about that?”

Aphrodite chuckles, tapping the crinkle in Artemis’s forehead. “Admit it,” she teases. “You _like_ Zagreus.”

“I’m _helping_ Zagreus,” Artemis clarifies, with a pout. She very intentionally turns away from Aphrodite’s gaze. “He wants to escape the Underworld to meet us. I’m just offering him some support fire.” Artemis looks pensively at the brook before them, water chuckling over the moss-covered rocks. “He’s quite good with the bow and arrow,” she adds, offhandedly.

Aphrodite smiles then, leaning in. “So you think about his… _proficiencies,_ now do you?”

Artemis looks at her strangely, but then flashes her eyes back at the river. “He’s very adept with Coronacht.”

Ha! She doesn’t get it, and Aphrodite thinks that’s so adorable she could kiss the green stripe off the goddess’s cheek.

“What I mean to ask, my dear huntress, is if you’ve ever thought about Zagreus shooting his heart-seeking bow right at _you_ ,” Aphrodite clarifies.

Everything clicks then for Artemis, and in a blink, her eyes burn — half-disdain and half-embarrassment.

“Even _you_ can be more coy than _that_ ,” she says quietly.

Amused, Aphrodite purses her lips. She lets silence fall between the two of them, watching Artemis mindlessly dip her slim fingers through the creek water.

“Say, love,” Aphrodite remarks, after a moment. “Do you know _how_ I was able to find you so easily?”

Artemis freezes. “…. No,” she replies carefully.

“It’s the _scent_ you give off,” Aphrodite explains. A sly smile slides over her lips as she nears Artemis’s left ear, the bottom curve of her breast pressing into the tails of her fur collar. “You smell a bit like… _desperation_.”

Artemis hisses, then rolls her shoulder, shrugging Aphrodite away. “What are you trying to say?”

“I mean exactly what I say when I speak, love,” she replies. “Unlike you, who seems ever in denial.”

“I’m not _denying_ anything.”

She bops Artemis’s nose lightly with her index finger. “Don’t worry, a simple infatuation means nothing to your chastity,” she assures her.

“As if I would take romantic advice from Olympus’s most renowned hetaera,” Artemis grouses.

Aphrodite _definitely_ hears that, and she does _not_ like it.

“Well then, Artemis, I’ll have you know that many a god has become a better lover by spending a little time with me,” she replies.

“Many a god has also become more _violent_ after you,” Artemis snaps.

“Must we always be oil and water?” Aphrodite frowns. “Why don’t we get along? I’m nice to you, aren’t I? Yet you always seem eager to shoot an arrow right through me.”

“For one, you’re trouble,” Artemis replies.

“All is fair in love and war.”

“ _And_ you expect _everyone_ to like you, no matter what.”

Aphrodite huffs. “I’m the goddess of _love_ , dear,” she says, catching Artemis’s wrist. She lifts Artemis’s hand out of the river water, curling her wet fingers into hers. “I’m quite confident I’m _irresistible_.” She presses a kiss onto Artemis’s knuckles, eyes never leaving hers.

Artemis’s breath stops here — and Aphrodite has to hide a smirk.

“What I mean to say, dear huntress,” she continues, “is that when you’re ready for us to get along, I’m available for target practice.”

And by _that_ — just based Artemis’s flushed cheeks and wide eyes — Aphrodite is also confident Artemis knows _exactly_ what she means.

**Author's Note:**

> find me simping on eurydice and ares on [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/napsbeforesleep)


End file.
